1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a facsimile system having an image recorder or printer capable of recording an image using a toner.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In a recording or printing apparatus having a recording portion adapted to reproduce an image with a toner, it is desired to save the toner, namely, minimize the amount of consumption of the toner. An example of an image recording apparatus which is operable in a toner save mode for reducing the toner consumption is disclosed in JP-A-2-144574 (published in 1990), which includes (a) a recording portion for recording an image on a recording medium, in a matrix of dots such that image dots are formed by deposition of a toner at selected ones of local spots which correspond to picture elements of the matrix, (b) a non-toner-save control portion for controlling the recording portion in a non-toner-save mode according to original image data representative of an original image to be reproduced, (c) a toner-save control portion for controlling the recording portion in a toner-save mode according to toner-save image data representative of a toner-save image whose density of image dots is lower than that of the original image and which is recognizable as an image similar to the original image, and (d) an operator-controlled mode selector switch for selecting one of the non-toner save and toner-save control portions to effect recording in the corresponding one of the non-toner-save and toner-save modes.
The toner-save control portion for controlling the recording portion in the toner-save mode includes image-dot determining means for determining, on the basis of the original image data, whether an image dot is formed at each local spot or picture element position of the matrix. The image-dot determining means is adapted to generate toner-save image data so that where image dots are to be formed at two or more successive local spots in a line (row) or column of the dot matrix according to the original image data, the image dots to be actually formed are omitted at every other local spot of those successive local spots. If the image dots are to be formed according to the original image data at three successive local spots in a certain line, for example, the image dot is actually omitted at the intermediate one of the three successive local spots. The omission of the image dots in a line or column is effected uniformly over the entire line or column.
Thus, the image-dot determining means of the toner-save control portion of the apparatus described above is arranged to perform a data processing operation for each local spot or picture element position of the dot matrix, to determine whether an image dot is actually formed at each local spot according to the toner-save image data.
When the non-toner-save control portion is selected by manual operation of the mode selector switch, the recording portion is controlled in the non-toner-save mode according to the original image data. When the toner-save control portion is selected by the mode selector switch, the recording portion is controlled in the toner-save mode according to the toner-save image data generated as described above.
Where the recording apparatus constructed as described above is used in a facsimile system, the amount of toner consumption by the system may be reduced.
However, the user of the facsimile system must manipulate the mode selector switch to select the toner-save or non-toner-save mode. This manipulation is cumbersome.
In this respect, it is noted that a facsimile system receives from a remote facsimile transmitter, facsimile data which include original image data representative of an original image to be reproduced. The non-toner-save mode or toner-save mode must be selected depending upon the degree of importance of the original image to be received. To this end, the user must check each original image to be received, and operate the mode selector switch. This procedure is cumbersome to the user.
In some situations, the user of the facsimile system is not able to know the content of the facsimile data to be received from a remote facsimile transmitter, and is not able to check the nature or importance of the image represented by the original image data. Some facsimile systems are adapted such that a recording operation is started after an indication of the remote facsimile transmitter is provided on a display. In this case, the user may estimate or guess the degree of importance of the image data to be received and operate the mode selector switch depending upon the estimated degree of importance of the image data. However, it is difficult for the user to estimate the importance of image data to be received if the facsimile system of the user does not display an identification of the remote facsimile transmitter prior to an image recording operation on the facsimile system in question. In this case, the user cannot manipulate the mode selector switch to select the appropriate one of the non-toner-save and toner-save modes.